Terry is recovering ok from her latest throat op and is able to eat and swallow again now.

Strange coincidence: Just before she fell ill, she received a 'missed call' from an old work colleague from where she used to work several years ago, before her health packed up. She mentioned it over the weekend, so I checked her phone and called the number. Turns out someone was just messing with the phone and dialled her number by mistake. Nevertheless the colleague was shocked to hear about Terry's misfortune and has spread the word. Over the last few days, she's had a steady stream of old workmates visit (pre-warned by the colleague not to show their shock at her condition), which has lifted her spirits big time. Can't remember when last I've seen such joyful smiles from her, I had to look away and pretend to be finding something very interesting outside the window, until I could swallow the lump.

When she went into hospital, she was fine on the outside and wrecked on the inside. This has now been reversed. The engine is ticking over ok, but the bodywork is a train smash. Only her face is unmarked and that's only because the marks from the plasters holding the respirator tube in her mouth have faded. Some of the wounds where her skin has ruptured are serious, so I had a word with the hospital matron, who has taken personal charge of Terry's nursing and has brought in a 'wound specialist' to treat her.

The holiday is still on so far, but a bikini just isn't going to happen.

Well, not for good, but the doc gave her a weekend pass, I think to encourage her to keep working on her rehabilitation. It was a major logistical and very costly project to arrange home nursing and ambulance transport but worth it to see her sitting in her own home again.

She usually dozes quite often in the hospital but today, although exhausted, she wouldn't close an eye, just wanted to take everything in. I performed her daily physio and am pleased to announce, she stood better and longer than ever, those medical types should get some engineering training to better understand structural stability.

I was the 2nd second nurse during the day and will be again tomorrow, but I hired 2 for tonight, cause this nurse is nackered and needs some sleep.

BTW, I wanted to tell you it brought tears to my eyes to read this "The days saving grace was I had to listen to her tell me proudly several times how should stood alone today, while the Physio and assisting nurses clapped and cheered." I am so happy.

Very brilliant weekend having Terry home. She spent most of the days in her hyper-deluxe recliner I bought for her, watching cricket of all things, and being waited on hand and foot. We're perfectly matched in that she cooks, I eat but this weekend it was; I cook, she eats. She's lucky to have survived.

We organised her hairdresser to make a house call today. It was quite a mission backing the wheelchair to the basin and getting her hair washed, but she revelled in the head rub and in being wheeled out onto the patio and having the cut outdoors. I prepped the hairdresser about Terry's condition but still, she was visibly shaken and fighting back tears the whole time. That made 2 of us. She even refused payment, muttering something about "a long-time and valued client......"

The 'looking-after' side was pretty tough. Her present state is somewhere between paraplegic and quadraplegic, so nursey and I did everything for her. First thing we did was get a sheet under her so we could move her, because due to the osteoporosis and tissue paper skin, hands-on is a no-no. There was a LOT of lifting to do between chair, wheelchair and bed and even more just turning her when she felt uncomfortable.

Worst though, was getting up close and personal with all the wounds on her poor tortured body. When the trachy surgeon heard she was weekend off, he thrust a huge syringe of disinfectant into my hand and gave instructions for me to change her dressing twice a day and clean the wound. When I first saw it, my blood froze in my veins. The small trachy hole is now a jagged crater about 5cm long x 1.5 cm wide and over a cm deep (I couldn't actually see the bottom), with a drain pipe emerging from the deepest part. Glad she wasn't watching my face, she doesn't know. Realising for the first time why the syringe was so big, I gritted my teeth and did my duty, squirting the stuff inside and a squirt down the pipe, mopping up what overflowed. I think I'm going to have a few nightmares over this one.

Terry is back in their hands now, but I'm so glad we had this time together. I think both of us are a little stronger now.

Doug I must have missed this, what fantastic news to read that you had this time at home! brilliant, I'm really pleased for you both. I suspect it will have done you both the power of good!

Edit: I know why now I didn't know - I hadn't re-subscribed to the topic, after the forum crash because I hadn't posted anything in it. I've been forgetting that recently - that we've lost all our subscribed thread updates.